The international break will have come as a welcome distraction following just one win in six games, with Graham Potter seemingly having a bit of work to do.
The club haven’t won since their 3-0 victory over QPR, falling 3-2 at the weekend to give Ipswich their first win of the season.
It was a frustrating day for the Swans, and one in which the club won’t understand how they lost, but Potter now has two weeks to put things right and begin to climb up the table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7gFulk5yZ4
Potter’s men are just two points off the Championship Play-Off spots and are an outside shot to reach the top six with most online bookmakers UK prices around 11/2, including at Betfred and Ladbrokes.
The Swans are currently 60/1 to be crowned Championship winners with bookies Betfred, and if that sounds a bit too unlikely at the moment you can get 22/1 with the same bookmaker on The Jacks to be promoted by any means.
And they don’t feel too far off. Their winless run is alarming but they were dominant in large spells against Ipswich and had 15 shots on goal to go with their 74% possession.
In fact, many of the stats look good. That fixture came off the back of four clean sheets out of five, two of those against higher opposition.
There’s a real belief that things will begin to come together under Graham Potter and the next two weeks could be key in helping him work on his squad.
14 players are out on international duty, with Joe Rodon, who could earn his first cap for Wales, certainly believes there are better things to come from the side.
Rodon said, “I feel we are one of the best sides in this league and we are improving every game.
“Our defensive record has been good and if we can bring everything together it will be a positive season for us.”
Potter is certainly trying to transform that. On top of a solid base, the former Ostersunds manager has got the club playing attractive football in a relatively short space of time and it’s only a matter of time before it begins to pay off.
This fortnight will allow Potter to reflect on the season so far and where they can improve. With their passing they’re among the best in the league, completing more than any other club and having a higher accuracy.
This was certainly put into practice against Ipswich with some fine team play, while it’s been evident all season Potter is trying his best to play out from the back.
Where they can certainly improve is by settling on a team, starting at the very back. He’s rotated his goalkeepers so far, while 24 players have seen action under the new boss.
Setting a firm base will give the back line trust and consistency will boost their defensive block, but they also need to look at how they can bolster the attack.
That’ll be Potter’s main priority this week. The Swans have had the lowest number of shots in the Championship, with the front line failing to turn large amounts of possession and passing into shots on target and chances.
If Potter can transform that and get the Swans creating more, they could prove to be one of the teams to beat for the rest of the season.